Multiple-circuit steam-heating system.



E. H. GOLD. 'MULTIPLE CIRCUIT STEAM HEATING SYSTEM. APPLIOATION FILED JULY 31, 1912.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 1.

E. H. GOLD. MULTIPLE CIRCUIT STEAM HEATING SYSTEM. APPLICATION FILED JULY 31, 1912.

1,092,570. Patented Apr. 7, 19m

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ccccc 1A PLANOGRAPH Co.,wAiHm0'roN, D. C

Earner I-I. GOLD, orcHIcAeo, ILLINOIS.

MULTIPLE-CIRCUIT STEAM-HEATING SYSTEM.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. "Z, 1914.

Application filed July 31, 1912. Serial No. 712,563.

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, Eecnn'r H. GOLD, a citizen of the United States, residing at Chicago, in the county of Cook and State of Illinois, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Multiple-Circuit Steam- Heating Systems, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to low pressure steam heating systems, and particularly to heating systems in which the steam is maintained in the radiating pipes at substantially atmospheric pressure; and the invention has for one of its principal objects to provide a novel and improved heating system of this type in which a number of radiating units, consisting of separate circuits, are controlled prcf erably by a single thermostatic device, one of said units, denominated the primary coil or radiator, being kept full of steam at all times when the system is in use, the other unit or units being auxiliary or secondary in their character and intended to be used or not as occasion may demand.

The invention has in view particularly the heating of railway cars and in this connec tion the primary coil or radiator is designed to extend substantially the length of the car so as to supply the entire car with a moderate amount of heat, the coil being ordinarily located near the water pipes of the car, if the system is used upon a sleeping car or the like, so as to prevent the water pipes from freezing up. The auxiliary coils are intended to be used only in severe weather and ordinarily extend through a part only of the car. The arrangement is such that the auxiliary coils cannot be supplied with steam unless theprimary coil is in service. The attendant therefore cannot make the mistake of using the auxiliary coils alone and so heat a part of the car only and perhaps give occasion for the freezing up of the water pipes or cause the car to be unequally heated in different places.

A further object of the invention is to provide, in a system of the sort described above, means for introducing the steam into the radiators by means of a jet so as to create suction at the return ends of the coils operating for the purpose of accelerating the flow of the medium through the circuits in service.

A further object is to provide, in a system of this character, certain improved arrange ments for preventing steam from being 1 constructions,

"from the supply and put out of service.

The invention has for a further object to provide a heating system having the im proved features and consisting of the novel arrangements and devices shown in the drawing hereto annexed and which will be hereinafter more fully de scribed and claimed.

The invention is illustrated in a preferred embodiment in the accompanying drawings wherein- Figure 1 is a diagrammatic view of the system as a whole; Fig. 2, a vertical sectional view taken through the automatic controller for the several coils; Fig. 3, a sectional view taken on the line 33 of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows; and Fig. 4, a fragmentary sectional view taken on the line H of Fig. 2, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Like characters of reference designate like parts in the several figures of the drawings.

Referring to the drawings, A designates the steam supply pipe which it will be understood is connected with the steam train pipe running the length of the train and supplied from the locomotive boiler.

B designates the automatic controller, G the primary radiating coil and D, D the auxiliary coils.

E designates the floor of the car (Fig. 1).

The automatic controller B comprises a casing divided by the internal web 10 so as to provide an inlet chamber 11 with which the supply pipe A communicates and the thermostat chamber 12 in which is mounted the thermostat 13 which is of familiar construction. The thermostat is interposed between an abutment 14, on the end of an adjusting screw 15, and the stem 16 of a valve 17 which controls the port 18 through which steam enters the inlet chamber 11 from the supply pipe A. A spring 19 tends to keep the valve in its open position, the valve being closed by the expansion of the thermostat when heated by contact of the steam.

The radiating coils C, D, D are supplied through a. common inlet pipe 20 and a manifold 21, the inlet pipe being tapped into the upper part of the casing of the controlling device. A nozzle 22 having a bore of relatively small diameter is arranged in the web 10 directly opposite the inlet pipe 20,

the top of the casing being formed between the nozzle and the pipe with a passageway 28 flaring at its inner end. The function of the nozzle is to introduce the steam into the radiating units in the form of a jet having some considerable velocity. This operation tends to produce a partial vacuum in the thermostat chamber 12 and the return ends of the radiating coils are arranged to be in communication with the thermostat chamber so that suction is developed in the coils tending to accelerate the flow of the medium therethrough.

In the arrangement shown in the drawings the primary coil C discharges directly into the thermostat chamber 12. Preferably the water of condensation is drawn off before it into the chamber any steam in the return end of the coil can enter the chamber and come into contact with the thermostat. The.

return ends of the auxiliary coils D, D are connected with outlet pipes 26 leading out of the thermostat chamber and communieating with the atmosphere. Preferably the openings 27 between the outlet pipes 26 and the thermostat chamber are smaller than the cross-sectional area of the outlet pipes at their lower ends so that the vacuum formed in the auxiliary coils when the supply is cut OE and condensation commences will not draw steam from the thermostat chamber into the return ends of the auxiliary coils. The coils D, D are provided at their inlet ends with shut-ofi valves 28 and the supply pipe A is provided with a. shutoff valve 29.

The operation of the apparatus above described is as follows: Vith the valve 29 open and the valves 28, 28 closed steam will enter the inlet chamber 11 through port 18 and thence be directed in the form of a jet through the nozzle 22 into the inlet pipe 20 and into the primary coil C. The vacuum produced by the jet operates upon the return end of the coil 0 tending to hasten the flow of the medium, steam and water of condensation, through this circuit. If the weather becomes cold or if some particular portion of the car served by one of the auxiliary coils requires additional heat the auxiliary coil in question may be put into service by simply opening the valve 28. The suction produced by the steam jet acts upon the auxiliary coils as well as upon the primary coil and operates, when one of the auxiliary coils is first opened up, to causethe same to be immediately filled with steam. When two or more of the coils are in service the suct-ion acts as an equalizer to insure circulation through all the coils in service preventing short-circuiting.

Vhether the primary coil C alone is in servlce or whether one or more of the auxiliary coils are supplied the steam is maintained' in such circuits as are supplied at substantially atmospheric pressure. Any excess of pressure in any of the coils operates to bring live steam into contact with the thermostat so as to cause it to expand and throttle the supply port 18.

' danger that steam would be drawn into the coil intended to be put out of service through its return end. For this reason the auxiliary coils D,'D discharge into theoutlet'pipes 26 below the casing of the controller; and in order to further insure that no steam shall enter these coils through their return ends the casing of the controller is formed with lips'30 at the places where the outlet pipes are tapped into the casing, these lips constricting the openings between the outlet pipes and the thermostat chamber to a diameter considerably smaller than the diameter of the outlet pi es. Hence a vacuum created in either 0 the auxiliary coils D, D will satisfy itself from the out side atmosphere rather than by drawing upon the steam in the chamber 12. Any excess of steam at the return ends of the auxiliary coils will nevertheless pass up into the thermostat chamber and effect the expansion of the thermostat. This expedient as applied to a heating coil controlled as herein shown and described. might obviously be utilized in steam heating systems other than the multiple unit system described. 7 V

lVhile I have described my invention in a certain preferred embodiment, it will be readily understood, "that modifications might be made without departure from the invention. Therefore, I do not limit the invention to the particulars shown and described.

I claim: v

1. In a steam heating system the combination with a source of supply of steam of a plurality of radiating units respectively comprising separate circuits, a controlling device comprising a chamber with which the inlet and return ends of said radiating units communicate, means for introducing the if steam to the controlling device, and a ther- 1 mostat in said chamber to actuate the movements of said valve; one of said units being constantly open for the passage of steam Whenever steam is admitted to said chamber, another of said units being provided with a shutoff valve for the purpose described.

2. In a steam heating system the combination with a source of supply of steam of a plurality of radiating units respectively comprising separate circuits, a controlling device comprising a chamber with which the inlet and return ends of said radiating units communicate, means for introducing the steam from said source of supply into said radiating units in the form of a jet which tends to create a partial vacuum in said chamber, a valve to control the inflow of steam to the controlling device, and a thermostat in said chamber to actuate the movements of said valve; one of said units being constantly open for the passage of steam Whenever steam is admitted to said chamber, another of said units being provided with a shut-off valve for the purpose described; and means for preventing the steam from being drawn into the last-named unit through its return end by the vacuum created therein when the shut-oil valve is closed.

3. In a steam heating system the combination with a source of supply of steam of a plurality of radiating units respectively comprising separate circuits, a controlling device comprising a chamber with which the inlet and return ends of said radiating units communicate, means for introducing the steam from said source ofsupply into said radiating units in the form of a jet which tends to create a partial vacuum in said chamber, a valve to control the inflow of steam to the controlling device, and a thermostat in said chamber to actuate the movements of said valve; one of said units being constantly open for the passage of steam Whenever steam is admitted to said chamber, another of said units being provided at its inlet end with a shut-off valve for the purpose described and communicating at the discharge end with the atmosphere and also, through an effectively smaller opening, with the thermostat chamber.

4. In a steam heating system the combination With a source of supply of steam of a plurality of radiating units respectively comprising separate circuits, a controlling device comprising a chamber with which the inlet ends of said radiating units communicate, means for introducing steam from the source of supply into said radiating units in. the form of a jet which tends to create a partial vacuum in said chamber, a valve to control the inflow of steam, a thermostat in said chamber to actuate the movements of the valve, and an outlet pipe leading from said chamber and open to the atmosphere; one of said units discharging directly into said chamber and being constantly open for the passage of steam when ever steam is admitted to said chamber, the other unit being provided with a shut-ofi valve and discharging into said outlet pipe.

5. In a steam heating system the combination with a source of supply of steam of a plurality of radiating units respectively comprising separate circuits, a controlling device comprising a chamber with which the inlet ends of said radiating units communicate, means for introducing steam from the source of supply into said radiating units in the form of a jet which tends to create a partial vacuum in said chamber, a Valve to control the inflow of steam, a thermostat in said chamber to actuate the movements of the valve, and an outlet pipe leading from said chamber to the atmosphere; one of said units discharging directly into saidchamber and being constantly open for the passage of steam Whenever steam is admitted to said chamber, the other unit being provided with a shutoff valve and discharging into said outlet pipe, the opening between said chamber and outlet pipe being smaller than the cross-sectional area of the outlet pipe.

6. In a steam heating system, the combination with a source of supply of steam; of means constituting a radiating circuit; a controlling device comprising a chamber with which the inlet end of the radiating circuit communicates, means for introducing steam into the radiating circuit in a jet which tends to produce a partial vacuum in said chamber, a valve to control the flow of steam from the source of supply, a thermostat in said chamber to actuate the movements of the valve, a shut-ofi' valve in the inlet end of the radiating circuit, and an outlet pipe leading from the chamber to the atmosphere; the discharge end of the radiating circuit extending to and opening into said outlet pipe, the opening between the outlet pipe and the thermostat chamber being effectively smaller than the opening from the outlet pipe to the atmosphere.

EGBERT H. GOLD.

Witnesses:

L. A. FALKENBERG, Gr. Y. SKINNER.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. G. 

